


mistakes and promises

by GxmerGurl



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Clover is the emotional support Qrow needs, Depressed Qrow Branwen, Fluff, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, I dont know how to tag, Lucky Charm, M/M, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Qrow is soft and sad, Qrow needs a hug, Ruby is badly injured and Qrow is feeling guilty, fair game, past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22107148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GxmerGurl/pseuds/GxmerGurl
Summary: Qrow, Ruby and Clover are out and securing the mine when a sudden Grimm attack catches them off guard, leaving Ruby badly wounded and Qrow blaming himself. So its up to Clover to try and build up Qrow and watch over him while Ruby recovers.Or: Qrow is a sad boy and Clover is too good for the world and at the same time everything Qrow needs to stay sane.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 146





	mistakes and promises

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so, before you start reading, I want to say that this is my first ever fanfiction wrote for this ship or RWBY in general. Also, english isn't my first language, so please excuse errors. 
> 
> But honestly, I just love Qrow and Clover and I swear to god, if they only build up our hopes, just so either Clover dies or he turns out to be a traitor then...idk I'll probably just cry and cling onto these works because god damnit Rooster Teeth, please don't take Qrows happiness and emotional stability away from him :(
> 
> Also (last thing, I promise) I always read fair game (or however you want to call this ship) stories where either Qrow or Clover are hurt, so I thought, why not switch it up a little, because who needs a heart :)

Panic wasn’t even close to describe what he was feeling as he saw her collapse onto the ground.

Lost, came closer to the pure afterglow of the initial shock he was feeling as he watched her aura break in a second.

Guilt was everything he felt afterwards, as he kneeled over his unconscious niece, trying to somehow stop her bleeding but…the closer he looked, the more wounds he found and every passing second there just seemed to be more and more blood.

He thought that he could hear Clover practically screaming at some Atlas personal over coms that, ‘No it can’t wait?!’ and that this is ‘Priority number one because there’s a kid down, unconscious and close to bleeding out so you better hurry up or you won’t see the end of this, do you understand me?!’.

But Qrow couldn’t really comprehend it all. At least not yet. It all happened to fast, and yet again all he could do was watch.

_It was like Summer all over again._

\--

He didn’t speak a word as they loaded her onto the jet. He just stared at her blankly, while paramedics were trying their absolute best to get a hold of Ruby.

And just to see her fragile body full of blood and cuts, her new outfit, that she loved so much and what reminded him even more of her mom, ripped where the Beowolf ripped into her.

He hadn’t even realized how hard he was shaking, especially his hands that were covered in her blood, until Clover took one of them in his warm hands. Just then did he take his eyes off of her and looked into those teal eyes that always captivated him. “Everything’s going to be alright Qrow. None of this is your fault.”

It was scary just how the other man knew exactly what he was thinking. But he couldn’t stop it. Why should he? He failed again. He failed the one mission that she gave him. Her dying wish.

_“Please…” she coughed up blood as Qrow laid her down on his legs to somehow comfort her. “You have to look…look after her…Ruby…”_

_He frantically pressed on her wounds and tried to avoid looking at the blood that already stained her snow-white cloak. “Summer no…don’t…” he closed his eyes and tried to stay strong in front of her._

_“Qrow please…”_

_“No. You can’t…fuck Summer please. Please you…you can’t leave us…you can’t leave me…” she looked at him, pain prominent in her silver eyes as she reached up and took his face in her bloody hand._

_“If anyone can do it…its you. She…she loves you and…and I want nothing more then for my little girl to grow up and…” he noticed her eyes were fluttering closed more and more and her words merely a whisper “…and live a fulfilled live.” Another cough “Don’t let her make t-the same dumb mistakes as me Q-”_

“-row? Qrow?!” he jumped as he was ripped out of his thoughts and looked into Clovers concerned eyes, said mans hand on his arm.

“Yeah?” he only now noticed that they were back in Atlas and saw the rest of team RWBY look after the paramedics that took Ruby into the Academy.

He noticed how Weiss looked at her feet, while she clutched her shaking hand around her arm.

Blake just looked after Ruby in horror and Yang…

Yang’s eyes were full of worry, fear and he noticed how hard her hand was shaking, until she just broke down.

“Qrow…” he again looked at Clover “I have to go to the General, make a report on what exactly happened. I just want to make sure you can handle yourself the few minutes I’m gone.”

The man always worried a lot about Qrow. At first Qrow found it obnoxious, that this seemingly always optimistic goody-two-shoes would take an interest in his miserable life. He didn’t want to drag him down with him. And he still doesn’t want to, he just learned to accept the mans compliments and worries with him. It was…refreshing to say the least. After all these years he finally had someone who seemed to understand him, or when not, he at least tried to. He took an interest in him, a true interest. And he could finally open up, instead of always keeping everything to himself, until it ate away at his mind until he wouldn’t sleep or eat for days until he collapsed.

“Y-Yeah I’m fine. You can go.” He wasn’t fine, he didn’t know why he said it. He knew that he didn’t need to lie to the Ace-Op, but old habits die hard right?

Clover just sighed, before softly squeezing Qrow’s arm “I won’t take long, then we can talk. And I’ll say it again, but none of this is your fault Qrow.”

\--

A few hours had passed since the accident and he spent every minute next to her hospital bed as soon as they let him in.

She had some fractured ribs, but most of the teeth of the beast, avoided arteries or organs, or just superficially scratched them, so most of the blood was just from the many many superficial cuts. It still didn’t calm his racing mind though.

He held his nieces hand the whole time and listened to the peeping of the heart monitor, as he watched her and how her Aura was slowly but surely rebuilding itself.

_Everything had almost repeated itself. He almost lost her._

He closed his eyes and sighed but opened them again as soon as he heard the door open. The tired man was surprised to see Clover with two cups in hand, as he closed the door with his foot, before smiling softly at Qrow. “How is she doing?”

Qrow shrugged “Some fractured rips, many cuts. Looked worse than it was.”

Clover nodded, as he sat down and handed the other man one of the hot cups.

“What’s this?”

“Tea. I thought you could need a cup after…everything. It always helps me relax a little.”

“Thanks, not what I was hoping for but…you know…I take anything.” he lifted the cup up to his chapped lips. One of his nervous habits was biting it until it bleeds, he never really noticed when he was doing it.

“ _Qrow_ …”

At first the man in question didn’t even realize what he had said “N-No don’t worry. As I said, I gave it up.” He again looked at his niece “I wouldn’t forgive myself if I even nipped at that stuff now. Just…I never realized how much it actually hurt them…how much it hurt her.”

“It’s a good thing you gave it up. I know it isn’t easy, but you pulled through and its good to know that you found what you were doing wrong and don’t even want to go back.” Qrow looked at Clover, who smiled softly at the other man “I think that’s pretty amazing.”

“I should have never started it to begin with.”

“We can always look back at mistakes we made and wish we were smarter back then and would have never done them. But now you’re stronger and smarter and learned from that mistake, so you’ll never gonna repeat it.”

How did he always know the right words to say? How was he doing it?

“How are _you_ doing Qrow?” Clovers voice was softer than normal, it was most of the time when he was talking to Qrow. Like he was talking to a wounded animal and didn’t want to scare it off.

“I…” he almost said it again, he almost lied to him again. He sighed “I’m not fine. I know I said I was…but I’m not. Not at all.”

Somehow it felt weird to say it out loud, when he always said that he was ‘okay’ or ‘fine’. But with Clover he never felt the need to lie to him, and when it happened, it was out of habit.

“Is there any way I can help you?”

Qrow looked at the other huntsmen, who had worry thick in his voice.

He didn’t want to bother the other man, and everything inside of him screamed to just write it off as nothing and tell Clover to go and not make him a part of all of this. But he couldn’t help but ignore that part of his thoughts, as he looked into those teal eyes that automatically made him feel like home.

“I could just…use a hug to be honest.”

For a moment he thought that the other man would laugh at him, for making such a childish and dumb request. But Clover just smiled, as he got closer to Qrow, before he closed his arms around the slightly smaller man. “ _I can do that._ ”

And as soon as he felt those strong arms around him, he felt everything rushing over him. Everything that had built up inside him until this very moment.

That was why he asked for a hug. He never really had them. As a kid he was always laughed at or made fun at when he asked for one. The only person he ever told was Summer, and she was one of the best huggers. And she was also one of the few people he ever opened up to.

The tears were flooding before he could stop them, so he just clung onto Clover and let the tears flow.

_“Don’t worry, I got you.”_

And he couldn’t remember a time he felt this safe and good about opening up and being vulnerable.

But with Clover, it always seemed so easy. He made everything seem easy.

And neither of the men complained.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I think the ending was a bit shit but maybe (if y'all want that) I could make a part two where these two talk about Qrow's worries and concerns. Also, if you want more fair game stories, then please hit me up with ideas, if you got some :)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
